In 2016, Maggie Hassan, then New Hampshire’s governor, signed a bipartisan law sharply limiting the use of license plate scanners.
Ten years later, Hassan, now a U.S. Senator, is pressing one of the country’s leading providers of the technology to disclose if it is complying with state law. New Hampshire’s measure is widely considered one of the strictest in the country; it prohibits any image collected in the state from being stored for more than 3 minutes, unless it is flagged for a specific law enforcement purpose.
In a letter to Flock’s CEO, Hassan on Thursday requested the company share information on how many cameras it has installed in New Hampshire, and what it is doing with any images it captures.
Hassan warned that “it appears that Flock’s system of license plate readers and associated databases undermine the privacy rights of Granite Staters.”
Flock did not respond to a request for comment about how many cameras it has installed in New Hampshire, or how it may be complying with state law.
Flock’s sprawling network of cameras scan roadways to compile a database of passing license plates. The technology is used by law enforcement to help track down suspects or missing people, but can also be purchased by homeowners associations or other non-law enforcement entities. Critics say the system amounts to a mass national surveillance system that infringes on civil liberties and can be abused by Flock’s customers to track just about anyone.
Flock now advertises a 7-day retention policy of all its images, down from a previous 30-day timeframe.
In her letter to the company, Hassan demands to know if the company is complying with state law, and requests to know what happens to images of New Hampshire license plates captured by cameras in other states.
“Privacy is critically important to Granite Staters, and New Hampshire law has strong protections to prevent the bulk, indefinite collection of people’s travel and other identifiable information,” the senator wrote.
It isn’t clear how many Flock cameras, or similar technology from rival manufacturers, may be in operation in the state. A crowdsourced mapping effort from the group DeFlock shows a small number of license plate readers across the state, though NHPR could not verify the accuracy of the map.
The New Hampshire Department of Transportation uses license plate scanners at its toll locations along highways, but only retains the images for processing unpaid tolls, according to a department spokesperson.
In June 2025, Manchester Police entered into a memorandum with Flock that allows the department to request specific vehicle information that is part of an active investigation. Lt. Patrick Houghton said the department doesn’t have information on where Flock cameras are located and cannot directly access the devices.
Widespread opposition to Flock bubbled up this summer, with a growing bipartisan push to prohibit their use. Fears of a surveillance state drove many of those efforts, but there have also been reports of abuse by members of law enforcement who used the system to track down intimate partners.
Flock responded to the public outcry by reducing its default timeline for data retention, and instituting safeguards to prevent abuse. The company continues to tout its effectiveness as a public safety tool, arguing it has helped locate more than 10,000 missing people and assisted law enforcement in locating stolen vehicles.
